James McDowell

James earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and an LLM in tax law from New York University. James recently retired after a 25-year career in financial services, primarily at Fidelity, State Street Bank and TIAA in Boston and the Bay Area. James and his wife, Caryn, started volunteering at PGC when their daughter, Juliana, joined Allegra in 2016. Juliana is now singing in Ensemble.

James’s passion is supporting lifelong learning. He served as co-chair of the Endowment and Audit Committee of the Hillsborough School Foundation for two years, and also serves on the Board and as Treasurer of Flying Particles, Inc., a not-for-profit club, training pilots in the Bay Area.

Lucy Kung

Lucy is a Bay Area native, having grown up in San Francisco. After graduating from UC Davis with a computer science degree, she lived and worked in the South Bay until 2010. Lucy and her family then moved to Millbrae, where they reside now. Lucy currently works at Hewlett Packard Enterprise as a Senior QA Engineer.

Lucy's daughter joined PGC in 2018 and is now singing in Ensemble.

Olivia Gingold

Olivia is a Bay Area Native who grew up in the San Mateo/Burlingame area. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Economy and a minor in Chinese Language from UC Berkeley in 2020. After graduating, she worked for a couple years at a local government agency in Marin County with jurisdiction over agency regulation and boundary management.

Olivia’s involvement with PGC began in the early 2000s. She started singing with PGC at age 6 and stayed until she graduated from high school. She’s travelled to the Eastern Seaboard, the Pacific Northwest, and London and Canterbury with the choir. She also worked and volunteered as a summer camp counselor, intern, and concert stagehand throughout high school and even college. Olivia has been involved with PGC for more than 75% of her life.

Olivia recently traded her life-long term in the Bay Area for a new adventure in the EST/EDT time zone. She currently attends the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor where she also resides.

Karyn Silva, Artistic Director, Concerta, Ensemble & PGC Coastside Director

Karyn has a passion and infectious enthusiasm for the art of choral music. With over twenty years of conducting and teaching experience, she is sought after as a master teacher, clinician, and mentor in her field. She is a graduate of Holy Names University, where she earned her Master of Music Education degree with a Kodaly emphasis. Ms. Silva also received her graduate certification in the Orff-Schulwerk approach from Mills College.

Ms. Silva was awarded the distinction of “Teacher of the Year” for the Lincoln Unified School District in 1996 and in 2007 was honored by the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) as “Classroom Music Teacher of the Year.” With the exception of Repertoire, she has conducted every choir level at the PGC.

Ms. Silva is actively involved in music education and choral conducting organizations. She was the Youth Choir chairperson for the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE) National Conference in 2004, she served on the board of the California Music Educators National Conference from 2005-2006, and recently she has presented sessions at the American Choral Directors (ACDA) and CMEA annual conferences. She is an active member of Chorus America, American Choral Directors Association, and the Organization of American Kodaly Educators.